The Fallen Little Golden Branch

My new novel, "The Escaped Concubine", is now updating. I hope you lovely readers will show it lots of support! The youngest daughter of Prince Jin is kidnapped after wandering off while playing. During her escape, she falls off a cliff. Though she survives, she loses her memory and is rescued by Nanny Zhang, a servant of the Lu family, hundreds of miles from the capital. The only thing she has with her is a handkerchief embroidered with the character Liu, so she is named Liu'er and brought into the household as a maid. But Liu'er was pampered from the time she was little, with soft, delicate skin. How could she possibly do a servant's work? Seeing the girl's hands blister and redden after washing just one piece of clothing, Nanny Zhang sighed helplessly. "You can't even sweep the floor or wash clothes. This household doesn't keep idle people." The girl panicked. She searched for an answer, glancing around desperately before stammering, "I... I can make tea." As it turned out, thanks to the faint familiarity she still had, she made it surprisingly well. Looking at the girl's pitiful, bright-eyed face, Nanny Zhang's heart softened. She found an opportunity to send Liu'er to serve tea in the Old Madam's rooms. One day, as Liu'er was serving tea as usual, she happened upon the Old Madam talking with Lu Qi, the eldest young master of the Lu family. The Old Madam sounded both exasperated and helpless. "We can put off getting married for now, but surely you need someone in your rooms?" With the matter put so plainly, Lu Qi couldn't refuse again. He casually pointed at the little maid who had just set the tea down beside him and was too nervous to breathe. "Fine. Her, then." Liu'er's hand trembled, spilling tea all over Lu Qi. The Old Madam also froze, looking at the childlike Liu'er. Wait... Has she had her hairpin ceremony yet? A year later, Prince Jin, who loved his daughter more than life itself, finally found his sweet, soft-spoken youngest daughter. But when she saw him, her first reaction wasn't to throw herself into his arms and cry and plead for comfort, as he had imagined. Instead, she timidly hid behind a handsome man nearby. "Husband..." The man patted her hand and bent down to comfort her gently. "Good girl, this is Liu'er's father. He's not a bad person." Prince Jin: "..." I suddenly feel like killing someone... Sweet, soft, innocent beauty x cold-faced, warm-hearted, pretend-tough eldest young master (the young master has a hidden identity) The heroine has just come of age, but looks younger than she is. Fictional setting! Fictional setting! Fictional setting! No historical nitpicking. Read for fun. If you don't like it, move on. Picking fights gets you nowhere! One-on-one, both leads' first love, happy ending. They pamper and heal each other. Upcoming story, "After We Married, I Found Out My Husband Had a Crush on Me". Please add it to your favorites! Blurb 1 The Yun family has been imperial merchants for generations. Unfortunately, by Yun Shuli's time, they are prosperous only on the outside and rotten within. Burdened by internal problems and external debts, they arrange her marriage to the Xue family for ten thousand taels of silver. It is called a marriage alliance, but in truth, the Xue family's chronically ill Old Madam needs a happy marriage to bring her good fortune. The other person chosen for this arrangement is the Xue family's eldest son. He is cold and taciturn, and rumored to be cursed to bring death to his wives. Such a wonderful fate naturally falls to Yun Shuli, the unlucky daughter her family doesn't favor. But Yun Shuli takes it in stride. She's glad to leave that filthy household behind. And though Young Master Xue has countless faults, at least he is very handsome and polite. Yun Shuli figures that as long as she remembers her place, acts virtuous and dutiful, and isn't arrogant or jealous, she can be a pretty ornament and won't have too hard a time. And that's exactly how it goes. Aside from her husband's vigorous energy at night, which is the complete opposite of his daytime self, Yun Shuli enjoys a peaceful life. Until one day, she happens to find a half-new wooden box in the study. It is full of letters and notes, and every single one begins with the same four words: "My beloved A Li..." Blurb 2 Since their wedding, Yun Shuli has found her husband's cold nature and taciturn manner just as the rumors described. There's only one difference: he is far too "vain." He can't bear to be outdone by other husbands. If another man's wife embroiders a new sachet, prepares a new jade pendant, or even adds a new patch to her clothes, he wants the same. But since her husband asks, Yun Shuli, a gentle and virtuous wife, naturally prepares each thing for him. She even goes one step further: whenever she hears that someone has acquired a beautiful concubine, she immediately sends over the best-looking maid in their household. After her husband fails to visit for several days in a row, Yun Shuli is so pleased with her own virtue that she sleeps better than ever. But when she wakes in the middle of the night, she finds her husband, who should be enjoying a woman's company, standing by her bed with a face dark as a pot. Yun Shuli is startled. Before she can ask what's going on, he takes off his shoes and climbs onto the bed, his voice strangely gritted with anger. "You have such good connections, my dear. You must have heard that the Liu family had a baby boy today..." A sweet little story about how I thought we were a respectful, well-matched couple, only to discover my husband had been plotting all along, and we eventually fell for each other. The leads are both adorable. I realized most of my previous stories were about couples before marriage, so this time I'm trying a marriage-first, love-later story. Pure sweetness, no angst. Dive in without worry. Theme: A setback can be a blessing in disguise, and after a dark tunnel comes a new vista.